Thirty Days of Text – Civilise
* I just want to preface this with a little apology to my sister. If you ever read this, this is not a personal dig at you, but inspired by some of the questions you had (the personality of the characters are more inspired by others I know).
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“Moce! Vinaka vaka levu! Bye-Bye!”
The two woman turned around in the taxi to wave goodbye to the women of the village as they pulled out from the track back onto the bitumen. The cold blast from the airconditioning was a welcome relief from the searing midday heat and they slumped down in their seats, exhausted.
“They were lovely, weren’t they? I didn’t want to leave!” smiled Jasmine.
“I’m glad to be out of the heat, though,” muttered Millie. “I can’t believe how hot it was in that hall! How can they live like that?”
“That’s why everything’s on Fiji-time I guess,” replied Jasmine, toying with the handmade lei of flowers and leaves the women had given them.
“But yeah, they were really friendly but I kinda wanted to ask some questions like if they have TV or the internet and stuff. Or mobiles. Stuff like that.”
Jasmine paused to think, “Well, they did have aerials on some of the stone houses. Like the chief’s house, his house had a dish on it, so yeah, I guess they do.”
“But they don’t seem very civilised, do they?” scoffed Millie.
“What’s that meant to mean?”
“Well, some of those houses were made from plants and stuff and they were all in like old t-shirts and didn’t wear shoes and stuff. I mean, it was a village, like a tribal thing, right?”
“Jesus, Millie, I can’t believe you just said that!”
“What?! They weren’t wearing shoes! I’ve gotta say, though, they did speak pretty good English, I was surprised about that . . .” Millie was starting to pull the flowers from the knot in her lei, ripping the petals off and leaving them on the seat of the resort-provided taxi.
“Why were you surprised about that? Of course they speak English! They’re part of the friggin’ Commonwealth!”
“Really? So, like, they have the same Queen as us? I thought, ’cause they had like chiefs and stuff they were, like, I dunno, some kind of feudal society. You know, kinda,” and Millie dropped her voice so their driver wouldn’t hear, “backwards.”
“That’s just crass, Millie!” Jasmine spluttered. “These women – who have so little, may I remind you – just opened themselves up to us, welcomed us with open arms, smiles and hugs . . .”
“But I mean, that was a bit full-on, you know, hugging us like that!”
“No it wasn’t! They were so friendly, so warm to us even though we’re friggin’ spoilt, rich tourists – how are they not civilised? They fed us, greeted us, gave us kava . . .”
“Yeah, but that stuff was freaking awful! My mouth’s still numb!”
“That’s not the point! That’s like giving someone a bottle of wine or something when they come to visit you. God, I can’t believe you!”
“Whatever . . .” snorted Millie. “Wanna go in the pool and have cocktails when we’re back at the resort? Now that’s what I call civilisation!”
Jasmine didn’t respond and the two cousins spent the rest of the taxi journey in silence, through the fields and the forests on roads fringed with goats, skinny dogs and school children, back to the world of massages, pedicures, sunsets, pool-bars and silver service dining, a strange bubble where Fijian-time and Western ideas of service delivery collide; both Millie and Jasmine stewing on which one they preferred.
It begins here
So, my first post . . . or sort of first post, if you ignore the other one back there.
I’ve been meaning to make this post all week but things have gotten on top of me and this blogging thing is tricky (hopefully this procrastination isn’t a hint of things to come). I’ve tried LJs and diaries before but I’ve never been that good at personal journals so I intend this blog to be more about my work than about me; that said, I’ll no doubt post important or interesting things that happen to me along the way. But what’s more important is my writing, my acting, and all the other things I get up to in the hope of creating something worthwhile and to validate my existence as something more than a lowly office clerk.
Writing is my main passion. I tend to take on more projects than I can handle, but right now I’m working on a full-length play, pretending to proof-read and second-draft my 2006 NaNoWriMo novel, and competing in the text section on Worth1000. I’d be lying if I said my aim wasn’t to one day see my name on the spine of a novel or credited on a playbill, but I also understand I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me until I’m that good so much of this blog will be dedicated to that journey. I’ll also be posting some of my short stories so stay tuned for that.
My other main interests are acting and, currently, belly dancing (but don’t get any ideas about that, I’m really not that great 
). I’m planning on going back to acting lessons as every time I audition I feel terribly under-prepared and sadly I fall into the most common demographic, i.e., female aged between 18 – 25, and I suspect there aren’t many roles for short, pudgy red-heads in that group. I’d love to study full time, or even take on a diploma course part-time, but I just can’t afford that sort of thing on my wage, so night classes it is. I’ve got a few other things simmering away in the background too, so no doubt you’ll hear about it here as well.
Otherwise, you’ll be getting reviews of books, movies and shows and any interesting links that cross my path. To start you off, here’s something I came across on the Articulate blog – Alexey Titarenko, a Russian photographer who takes some absolutely haunting photographs. Having just read the Nightwatch trilogy, some of these photos make the Twilight seem like a very real place.
Just give us a moment, will you?
Um, I’m still trying to figure all this blogging malarky out. Just hang ten and I’ll have it running eventually.
